This Version 4, R1 dataset includes data described as GFED4 and GFED4.1s from the data provider. GFED4 data are without small fire inputs and are in HDF format. The GFED4.1s data include small fires and are provided in HDF5 format. The mapped burned area is without small fires and this is the GFED4 burned area described in Giglio et al. (2013). The emissions fields are based on this dataset but boosted with small fires, GFED4.1s. The emissions fields also contain a layer with the fraction of emissions resulting from this boost. Additional information may be obtained from the Global Fire Data website: http://www.globalfiredata.org/index.html.

The dataset is divided into the following main datasets. Data products include:

Global daily burned area for a subset of the time series from Aug 2000 to 2015 in HDF (.hdf) format (GFED4).

2. Emissions (monthly, daily, 3-hourly) and burned area (GFED4s - with small fires)

Annual files with monthly GFED4s burned area (including small fires), emissions, and scalars to distribute the monthly emissions over the days as well as the diurnal cycle as HDF5 (.hdf5) format (GFED4s) for the time period 1997 to 2015. These files contain fire carbon emissions (g C m-2 month-1) and dry matter emissions (kg DM m-2 month-1). In addition, fractional contributions of different fire types (grassland and savanna, woodland, deforestation and degradation, forest, agricultural waste burning, and peat fires) are provided within each file. The CASA-GFED biosphere flux sources include Net Primary Production (NPP), heterotrophic respiration (Rh), and fires (biomass burning). Rh has been updated for all years in this distribution due to a correction in only the Rh values. Available for years 2003 onward are daily / 3-hourly emissions which are scalar fields that can be used in combination with monthly emissions files to estimate emissions on a higher temporal resolution.

Regional estimates for various trace gases and aerosol emissions are provided, in text format, that contain annual emissions (1997 - 2016) per region for totals of C and individual species from all sources, yearly lumped sources such as higher alkanes, higher alkenes, and toluenes, and from each individual fire source (forest fires, peat fires, agricultural waste burning, etc). These files are for indicative use only; they are not suitable for official reporting due to large uncertainties and the potential for aspects of information from key regions to be missing in the global approach used. There are 41 text files.

Related files include emission factors (EF) data for individual species by biome (fire source) in comma-separated (.csv) format. There are 2 csv files.

There are a total of 5,952 files with this dataset. The data are in text, HDF5, and HDF formats as described above.

Version 4, R1 Note: This dataset is intended for use for large-scale modeling studies. It supersedes and replaces the Global Fire Emissions Database, Version 4 (GFEDv4) which was archived by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center in 2015.

Table of Contents

Data Set Overview

This dataset provides global estimates of burned area, monthly emissions and fractional contributions of different fire types, daily/3-hourly fields to scale the monthly emissions to higher temporal resolutions, and data for monthly biosphere fluxes. The data are at 0.25-degree latitude by 0.25-degree longitude spatial resolution and are available from July 1997 through 2016 depending on the individual dataset.

Also included with this dataset are data from small fires referred to as GFED4.1s data on the GFED website http://www.globalfiredata.org/index.html. GFED4 data are without small fires in HDF format; the GFED4.1s data (data which includes small fires) are provided in HDF5 format. The mapped burned area is without small fires and this is the GFED4 burned area described in Giglio et al. (2013). The emissions fields are based on this dataset but boosted with small fires, GFED4.1s. The emissions fields also contain a layer with the fraction of emissions resulting from this boost. Additional information may be obtained from the Global Fire Data website: http://www.globalfiredata.org/index.html.

A full revision history for the GFED data is provided in section 8 of this document.

This dataset revision (Global Fire Emissions Database, Version 4 (GFEDv4), R1) includes updates to all files that are available from the GFED community. In particular, it includes monthly burned areas without small files for 2016 and 2015-03 through 2015-12 and the daily burned areas without small fires for 2015 and 2000-2012, which were not part of the previous ORNL DAAC data distribution. Because of a small correction in respiration values, all files for emissions with small fires have been replaced for years 1997-2014 and the 2015 year has been added. Files for regional estimates for various trace gases and aerosol emissions, in text format, have been updated with a column for 2016.

Data Characteristics

Spatial Coverage

The study area covers the following 14 regions: Boreal, Temperate, and Central America, Northern and Southern Hemisphere South America, Europe, Middle East, Northern and Southern Hemisphere Africa, Boreal, Central, Southeast, and Equatorial Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The upper left corner of each file is centered at 179.875 W, 89.875 N and the lower right corner at 179.875 E, 89.875 S.

Spatial Resolution

The data are gridded at 0.25-degree latitude by 0.25-degree longitude.

Temporal Coverage

Annual data and emissions estimates are for the years 1997- 2016.

Monthly data for the period 1995-06 to 2016-12.

Daily/3-hourly data are available for 2000 - 2015. Daily data for year 2000 start on yearday 214 - 366. All other years have a complete record. Daily data include leap day resulting in 1 - 366 year days.

(1) Ancillary: provides information on the names of the 14 regions and grid cell area for the data.

(2) Biosphere: provides monthly biosphere fluxes each month of the year. Units are in g C/m2/month.

Variables: (based on the CASA-GFED4s framework):

BB: biomass burning C emissions

NPP: Net Primary Production (NPP)

Rh: Heterotrophic respiration (Rh)

(3) Burned Area

Variables:

burned_fraction: The fraction of each grid cell that burned in that month according to the GFED4 burned area data; includes an experimental small fire estimate.

source: Source of GFED4.1s burned area estimate; includes an experimental small fire estimate. Data are from 500-m MODIS product MCD64A1 after 2001. Before 2001, ATSR and VIRS data were used.

(4) Emissions: data files are for each month of each individual year, and daily emissions for individual species and for individual species partitioned by specific sources (grassland and savanna, woodland, deforestation & degradation, forest, agricultural waste burning, and peat fires).

Variables:

C: Biomass burning C emissions. Units are provided in g C/m2/month.

daily fraction: The fraction of total emissions that were emitted in the different days of the month. These data are available for 2003-2015. Data are unitless ranging from 0 to 1

diurnal cycle: The partitioning of the daily emissions over eight three-hour windows (UTC). These data are available for 2003-2015 and based on GOES data. Data are unitless ranging from 0 to 1 and include:
UTC_XXX where XXX= 0-3h, 12-15h, 15-18h, 18-21h, 21-24h, 3-6h, 6-9h, and 9-12h.

small fire fraction: Fraction of total monthly GFED4.1s biomass burning emissions originating from small fire burned area. Data are unitless.

(5) lat: Latitude of datain degrees N

(6) lon: Longitude of data in degrees E

Daily Files:These files are the GFED4.0 version, without small fires. The data are estimates of burned area (BA) in hectares (ha) and for burned area uncertainty (BurnedAreaUncertainty). There are 365 hourly files for 2001 - 2015; one for each day of the year. For year 2000, the year days range from 214 - 366.

The daily files are named GFED4.0_DQ_YYYYXXX_BA.hdf

where: DQ=daily; YYYY= 2000 - 2015;

XXX = 001-365 (for each day of the year, 1-365. Leap year includes yearday 366);

and BA = Burned area.

Example file name: GFED4.0_DQ_2013001_BA.hdf

Variables:

BurnedArea: units are in hectares (ha)

BurnedAreaUncertainty: units are in hectares (ha)

LandCoverDist: UMD land cover distribution of burned area; units are in percent. See the monthly files below for the landcover classes.

Monthly Files: These files are the GFED4.0 version, without small fires. These files contain gridded, 0.25 degree x 0.25 degree, estimates for monthly burned area (BA) in hectares (ha) and for burned area uncertainty (BurnedAreaUncertainty). There are 259 monthly files in .hdf format for the period 1995-06 to 2016-12 (one file for each month).

The files are named GFED4.0_MQ_YYYYMM_BA.hdf

where: MQ = indicates a monthly file;

YYYY=1995 - 2016 (note: there are only seven files for 1995, June-December); and

BA = burned area.

Example file name: GFED4.0_MQ_199506_BA.hdf

Variables:

BurnedArea: monthly burned area. Units are in hectares.

BurnedAreaUncertainty: monthly burned area uncertainty. Units are in hectares.

LandCoverDist: UMD land cover distribution of burned area: units are in percent.

Land cover classes:

Class

Description

class_0

water

class_1

evergreen needleleaf forest

class_2

evergreen broadleaf forest

class_3

deciduous needleleaf forest

class_4

deciduous broadleaf forest

class_5

mixed forests

class_6

closed shrublands

class_7

open shrubland

class_8

woody savannas

class_9

savannas

class_10

grasslands

class_11

UNUSED

class_12

croplands

class_13

urban and built-up

class_14

UNUSED

class_15

UNUSED

class_16

barren or sparsely vegetated

class_17

unclassified

Emissions Estimates

These data are GFED 4.1s data. Emissions estimates are provided for 41 species (41 .txt files) for each year for 1997-2016, for the individual regions, global, different fire types, and all fire types combined provided as text files (.txt). The units are in g species/yr, for example, g CH4/yr.

Example file name: GFED4.1s_CH3COCHO.txt

Files are named GFED4.1s_species.txt where the species is one of the following:

C

H2

BC

C2H4

HCOOHC2H2

Higher alkanes

C2H6

C2H5OH

N2O

C2H4O

CH3COOH

Higher alkenes

NH3

C2H6S

NMHC

C3H6

NOX

OC (organic carbon)

C3H6O

C3H8

C6H6

C5H8

SO2

PM2.5 (Particle matter 2.5 micron emissions)

CH2O

C7H8

C8H10

C10H16

CH3COCHO

Toluene lump

HCN

CH3OH

HCOOH

CH4

HOCH2CHO

MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone / 2-butanone)

CO2

CO

DM

C2H2

TPC (total particulate matter)

GFED4_Emission_Factors_Summary.csv

This file provides a summary of the emission factors (EF) for 39 species and lumped groups of species (g Specie per kg Dry Matter burned) by biome based on the compilations of Akagi et al., 2011, Andreae and Merlet (2001), Yokelson et al., 1997, and Christian et al., 2003.

GFED4_Emission_Factors.csv

This file provides the EFs and uncertainties for the 39 species and lumped groups, EFs provided by biome, and EFs by biome from the four specific data sources listed above.

Application and Derivation

The GFED4 data were derived by combining 500-m MODIS burned area maps with active fire data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) family of sensors. Satellite information on fire activity and vegetation productivity were combined to estimate gridded monthly burned area, fire emissions and scalars that can be used to calculate higher temporal resolution emissions. Before 2001, ATSR and VIRS data were used.

This dataset is intended for use for large-scale modeling studies.

Quality Assessment

Annual emissions per region for totals of C and individual species from all sources, yearly lumped sources such as higher alkanes, higher alkenes, and toluene lump, and from each individual fire source (forest fires, peat fires, agricultural waste burning, etc). These files are for indicative use only; they are not suitable for official reporting due to large uncertainties and potential for key regional aspects to be missing in the global approach used.

Data Acquisition, Materials, and Methods

Data Sources

Satellite information on fire activity and vegetation productivity were combined to estimate gridded monthly burned area, fire emissions and scalars that can be used to calculate higher temporal resolution emissions.

Data sources used in this dataset:

Burned area from Giglio et al. (2013)

Burned area from small fires based on active fire detections outside the burned area maps detailed in Randerson et al. (2012)

List of emission factors to compute trace gas and aerosol emissions based on Akagi et al. (2011) as well as Andreae and Merlet (2001) with updates provided in 2013 by M.O. Andreae

Burned Area (Monthly data files; the mapped burned area is without small fires, this is the GFED4 burned area described in Giglio et al. (2013))

GFED4 burned area data provides global monthly burned area at 0.25 degree spatial resolution from mid-1995 through the present and daily burned area for the time series extending back to August 2000. The data were derived by combining 500-m MODIS burned area maps with active fire data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) and the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) family of sensors. For additional information, refer to Giglio et al., 2013.

Burned area from small fires (based on active fire detections outside the burned area maps (included in the Annual data files))

Many small fires occur each year that are well below the detection limit of the current generation of global burned area products derived from moderate resolution surface reflectance imagery. Although these fires often generate thermal anomalies that can be detected by satellites, their contributions to burned area and carbon fluxes have not been systematically quantified across different regions and continents. One km thermal anomalies (active fires) and 500-m burned area observations from MODIS were combined to estimate the influence of small fires. The number of active fires inside and outside of 500-m burn scars derived from reflectance data were calculated. Small fire burned area was estimated by computing the difference normalized burn ratio (dNBR) for these two sets of active fires and then combining these observations with other information. In a final step, the Global Fire Emissions Database version 3 (GFED3) biogeochemical model was used to estimate the impact of these fires on biomass burning emissions (Randerson et al., 2012).

Figure 2. Annual burned area (as percentage of the area of the grid cell), averaged over 1997-2014.

Annual files with monthly GFED4.1s burned area (including small fires), emissions, and scalars to distribute the monthly emissions over the days as well as the diurnal cycle are provided as HDF5 files. The HDF5 files include fire carbon emissions (g C m-2 month-1) and dry matter emissions (kg DM m-2 month-1). In addition, fractional contributions of different fire types can be used in combination with recommended emission factors provided (g species per kg dry matter burned) to calculate specific trace gas and aerosol emissions.

Emission estimates were derived by combining burned area data with a revised version of the biogeochemical model, Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA-GFED), that estimates fuel loads and combustion completeness for each monthly time step. For November 2000 onwards, estimates were based on burned area, active fire detections, and plant productivity. Refer to van der Werf et al., 2010 for more detailed information.

The daily and 3-hourly time series were derived by the disaggregation of the monthly MODIS data, and in parallel, mean diurnal cycles were constructed from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) active fire observations. Refer to Mu et al., 2010, for more detailed information. These scalar fields can be used in combination with monthly emissions files to estimate emissions on a higher temporal resolution. These are only available for the 2003 onwards.

Ancillary data (included in the Annual data files)

Biosphere fluxes: The CASA-GFED biosphere fluxes include NPP, Rh, and fires (BB). Units are in g C m-2 month-1. CO2 is not included and nitrogen fertilization and is spun up to almost neutral conditions.

Annual Emissions by Country

Annual emissions per region are provided for totals of C and individual species from all sources, yearly lumped sources such as higher alkanes, higher alkenes, and toluene lump, and from each individual fire source (forest fires, peat fires, agricultural waste burning, etc.). These files are for indicative use only; they are not suitable for official reporting due to large uncertainties and potential for missing key regional aspects in the global approach used. Links to tables with annual emission estimates for the various trace gas and emissions sources identified in the basis regions (Fig. 3) are provided on the Global Fire Data website.

Figure 3. Basis regions.

For additional information such as how to read the hdf5 files, how to compute trace gas, or aerosol emissions, additional figures, etc., refer to the Global Fire Data website: http://www.globalfiredata.org/index.html.

Data Access

These data are available through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active
Archive Center
(DAAC).